Cocca, S., Week 2

This week we were asked to reflect on the documentary "Side by Side" (2012), which is a movie that looks at the shift in the film industry toward digital production methods. The documentary was narrated by Keanu Reeves (not important but I thought it was cool). It featured a lot of famous actors, directors, and producers and asked their opinion of how the industry is changing and where it is going.

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We also attended a Public Relations conference in Corning, NY. This event was enlightening on the PR industry and what PR professionals do. I attended two breakout sessions that covered very different subjects. The first breakout session addressed ways in which PR professionals can coach their clients then they are speaking to the media. The speaker said it is important that the client know that the interview can easily shift away from the original subject into something else and that they should be prepared not to be flustered by this. The speaker suggested practicing before hand with worst-case-scenario questions and it should be filmed so the client can overcome any anxiety. The other session I attended was focused on creating content and what is the best way to do so. She discussed that audiences are less likely to focus on long videos anymore and that the best messages are kept to a minute or less. She also mentioned that production value is more important; viewers won't stay engaged if the production is poor or low quality.

Sourced from: http://www.jackalshockey.com/hufnagel/ 

This week we also had the honor of hearing from Mr. Matt Hufnagel from Hufnagel Productions. Mr. Hufnagel came to our class to discuss the event entertainment industry. Mr. Hufnagel has been in the entertainment industry in many functions; he's worked as a manager for sports teams, for venues, and most recently he has worked as a promoter. He spoke to us about the money that goes into these types of entertainment and how most event spaces loose money, especially those owned by governments (state, municipal). The most important thing he wanted us to take from his presentation was for us to learn to follow the money; who benefits the most? No one does anything for free.